Steven Stamkos scored his first three goals of the season as his hat trick led the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 7-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens at Amalie Arena.
Victor Hedman had a goal and three assists, Vladislav Namestnikov and Ryan Callahan each posted goal and an assist and Ondrej Palat also scored for the Lightning, who have won two of three to start the season.
Ben Bishop posted 16 stops in the win.
Brendan Gallagher scored the only goal of the game for the Canadiens, who lost their first game of the season after starting it with three straight wins.
Carey Price allowed four goals on 23 shots and was pulled after the second period. Dustin Tokarski fared just as badly, allowing three goals on 18 shots in the third period.
Tampa drew first blood at the 5:24 mark of the first period when Hedman lifted a backhand home with a jam in front of the net for his first of the season.
It was a 2-0 game near the midway mark of the opening frame, as Stamkos gathered a loose puck at the left side and snapped it in for a power-play marker.
The Canadiens got one back at 12:16 of the first after Jarred Tinordi threw a shot on net from the left wing that Gallagher redirected in.
Stamkos notched his second of the game at 13:15 of the second as Hedman sent a lead pass through the middle for Stamkos, who deked back to the forehand and slipped it between the pads of Price.
Skating on the power play, Stamkos capped off his eighth career hat trick with a slap shot from the right circle that went through a screen and past Price.
Callahan and Palat scored 17 seconds apart in the third period, while Namestnikov notched the first of his career with 3:05 to play to cap the rout.
Game Notes
Montreal hosts Boston on Thursday ... Tampa hosts New Jersey on Tuesday ... Tampa took two of three from Montreal last season ... Montreal was looking to win its first four games of the season since taking five straight to start the 2001-02 season ... The Lightning were 2-for-5 on the power play while Montreal was 0-for-4.
[SportsNetwork.com]
